Missouri's Adoption Process

April 20, 2017
By
Smith Law Offices, LLC

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Adoption is an incredibly popular way for couples and individuals to have a child.
Around 135,000 children are adopted in the United States every year from
the foster care system, family members, private agencies, and even other
countries. As gay marriage has been legalized in the United States, gay
couples have also been looking into adoption as an alternative to surrogacy.
One of every 25 U.S. families with children has an adopted child. If you’re
interested in joining this number—as a couple without a child, a
couple with kids, or a single individual—here is how adoption works
in the state of Missouri.

Step 1: Check Your Eligibility

Not all people are eligible to adopt in the state of Missouri. You must
be at least 21 years of age, be in good physical and mental health, have
a stable income, be willing to partner with the child’s family,
live in a home that meets licensing standards, and have a steady income.
You also must be prepared to complete a child abuse and neglect check
and criminal record check, which will include giving fingerprints. Likewise,
you will be asked to participate in and complete a free training and assessment process.

Step 2: Determine Who You Will Work With

You can either adopt through the foster care system, by going with a private
adoption agency, going through a lawyer or counselor, or adopting as a
step-parent. Private agencies can cost you anywhere from $4,000 to $30,000
to adopt and may include a home study, living expenses, counseling, medical
expenses, legal fees, and potentially foster care. If you go through a
public agency, the state will usually pay for the home study and other
services, and it will cost you anywhere from $0 to $3,500.

Step 3: Hire a Lawyer

Even when you go through the state, it may be advantageous to hire an attorney
to look over the process. Any paperwork you need to sign should be looked
over by an advocate familiar with the adoption process in Missouri. Likewise,
if you’re adopting internationally, having a skilled attorney familiar
with international adoption can save you a lot of trouble later.

Step 4: Apply

Once you’re ready to begin, you can start contacting the agency you’re
interested in working with. Make sure to ask questions if you have any.
Ask the agency how long the process might take, and discuss the kind of
child you’re looking for with them. Each agency should have an application
for you to fill out. They will likely want your basic information, such
as your name, race, income, education, and age.

Step 5: Decide on an Open or Closed Adoption

Some adoptions will have the possibility of keeping the biological parents
involved in the child’s life. If you choose an open adoption, you
can meet and know the identities of the birth parents. You can also decide
to remain in contact with one or both of the birth parents. Some open
adoptions involve visitation with the birth parent, while others merely
involve the child receiving letters and cards from the birth parents.
In a closed adoption, you and the birth parents will never meet and will
never have contact after the adoption.

Step 6: Meet the Birth Parents

If you decide on an open adoption, you will meet with the birth parents.
The parents will typically choose which family gets to adopt the child.
Prepare to meet them by putting together an album of your family or arranging
to tell them a short story about your life. They don’t need to fall
in love with you, but they will ultimately make the decision of who will
be the best choice to raise their child. If they decide to choose you,
you can also determine whether or not you want to pay any expenses to
the birth parents. Buying a child is illegal in Missouri, but you can
help the parents by offsetting part of their legal costs, food, shelter,
utilities, or transportation until the adoption is finalized.

Step 7: Undergo a Home Study

Home studies might take the longest time. A social worker will review your
family history, life, and home situation. Courts will look at the home
study to determine your ability to provide a stable home for the child
you wish to adopt. This process can take up to eight weeks and may require
important documents, such as marriage license, birth certificates, income
statements, and health forms. The social worker will likely ask you questions
about why you wish to adopt a child, what your childhood was like, and
what your thoughts are on discipline. Make sure you check your home to
ensure no potential dangers are exposed. The social worker will be looking
for obvious hazards that may endanger the child, so give your home a once-over
and fix any possible hazards you find.

Step 8: Get Your Background Check

A background check will involve giving fingerprints, so you can coordinate
with your agency to get this step done. Criminal offenses will not exclude
you from the process, but you must prove you are a fully rehabilitated
and contributing member of society.

Step 9: Matching with a Child

After finishing the paperwork and any training that may be required, matching
with your potential child is the next step. This could take a long time
or could happen in the next week or two, depending on the circumstances.
With private agencies, you can be more specific about what you’re
looking for, but public agencies have different criteria for matching
children with parents. Social workers will be looking for the best situation
for the child while they look for a child that will be a good fit for
your family. Remember, you are not the only person or family looking to
adopt a child. If you match with a child or sibling group, you will get
more information about them, so your decision to proceed is well-informed.
If you decide to meet with the child, you will then be introduced.

Step 10: Finalizing the Adoption

If you match with a child you would love to adopt, you can fill out the
appropriate paperwork and take your child home. You should be covered
by the Family and Medical Leave Act, which requires most employers to
give their employees unpaid time off for welcoming a new child into the
family. You will see your social worker in the next few months after you
bring your child home, and he or she will ensure the situation remains
a good one for both parents and child. The state requires you to wait
six months before finalizing the adoption. Once your adoption is approved
by a judge, you will have the same rights as biological parents, and a
new birth certificate will be printed with your name as the adoptive parent.

If you’re still interested in beginning an adoption, talk to one
of our skilled
St. Charles family law attorneys. We can help you through the process from start to finish.
Smith Law Offices, LLC has more than 20 years of combined legal experience to offer your case.
Talk to us about your situation in a case review.

The information on this website is for general information purposes only.
Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual
case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt
or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.